3.45 centimeters, Lily measured. She had unrolled her sheet of parchment, stretching it out fully. Her neat, loopy cursive filled almost three and half centimeters of the five-centimeter long parchment.

"Nearly there," Lily thought approvingly, examining her assignment. "I should be able to finish this tonight with Alice... if Potter will ever show up for this bloody meeting first!"

Lily chanced a look at the clock. 7:13 PM. She had scheduled a head meeting with James for 7:00 PM, and had also scheduled a study session with Alice Longbottom for 8:00 PM. Lily was getting testy as she did not like to be kept waiting, especially when she also had to attend to other commitments. Thankfully, she had brought her Potions essay with her to the head meeting room, so the time spent waiting had not been wasted.

"He has until 7:20," Lily decided. She removed her sheet of notes for the head meeting from her satchel, and then began to mentally prepare an irritated speech to deliver upon James' arrival.

At 7:18 PM, the tapestry swung upon.

"Good evening, my dear," James drawled, as he waltzed into the head common room and sprawled into the unoccupied chair at the large, oak table. He was sweaty, still dressed in Quidditch robes. He pushed his unruly black hair away from his forehead, and mopped his brow with the back of his hand.

Rather than launching into her prepared speech, Lily found her eyes trained to him, taking in his disheveled appearance. She was somewhat disgusted by his unkemptness, yet continued to watch as he made half-hearted attempts to tidy himself up.

Lily suddenly realized that she was staring at James. She gave a small cough, and then busied herself by moving her Potions books and essay onto the floor in order to clear some space for James.

"Potter," Lily said, "I'm hoping for a quick meeting today. I did not deduct any house points for student misbehavior within the last two weeks, so I do not have any incident reports to write out for Mr. Filch. Did you deduct any points for misbehavior?"

"Cutting right to the chase today, eh?" James noted with a wry smile. "Alright, right to it, then. I did not deduct any house points for misbehavior, but I did notice some misbehavior that I think warrants a report—although not to Filch."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked curiously.

"You know that prefect—Caradoc Dearborn? He's supposed to be patrolling the North Wing on Tuesday and Thursday evenings?"

Lily nodded.

"Well, I happen to know that last Thursday he skived off patrols. He spent the entire evening in the kitchens," James informed Lily.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "He missed an entire evening of patrols? Do you mean to say that the corridor was left unattended?"

"Mhm," James affirmed. "I thought we should mention it to McGonagall."

Lily paused thoughtfully for a few long seconds. "I agree that we should inform Professor McGonagall about prefects missing patrol duty," she concurred, "but I am eager to hear how you know all this when you spent Thursday evening out on the Quidditch pitch."

"Hmm?" James swiveled his head toward Lily.

"You hold Quidditch practice every Thursday, Potter," Lily said. "I do not see how you could have been in the North Wing at the same time."

"You've memorized my schedule, Evans? How charming of you!" James teased.

Lily blushed deeply. "I have not memorized your schedule! I learned the Quidditch schedule from Dorcas."

"Well, I never said I was there," James justified. "I just said I know that Dearborn was not there."

"Was one of your friends out in the hallways after hours?" Lily inquired, thinking of the Marauders' reputation for banned behavior.

"Nope, I've got no evidence of that," James claimed definitively. "I've got other ways of knowing where people are, Evans. You can trust me on this one."

Lily hesitated again. Is this what Professor McGonagall meant when she had said that James would be able to provide valuable information? How could James know that Caradoc Dearborn was off in the kitchens when he was not even in the castle?

"Alright," Lily agreed. "We'll report Caradoc's absence to Professor McGonagall."

"Anything else?" James prompted. "You had said today would be a quick meeting."

Lily glanced at her watch. They had already spent twenty minutes in the common room together.

"Yes, one more thing," she said. "The Halloween Feast is at the end of the month. Professor McGonagall asked us to plan the menu, as well as entertainment to follow the dinner. I figure we should at least consider the menu today."

"Easy enough! Roast turkey, green beans, corn, all the Harvest Meal fixings. For dessert, pumpkin pie, candied apples, and treacle toffee," James spouted.

"Treacle toffee? You consider that a Halloween treat?" Lily asked.

"Nope, but it is my favorite dessert," James grinned.

"Fine," Lily assented. "I will tell Professor McGonagall that we plan on a traditional Harvest meal. I guess we can break for today. Let's meet again next week to finish planning the feast."

Lily pulled her day planner out of her satchel. "How does Thursday the 13th sound? We can schedule after Quidditch practice."

James peered over at her day planner. "Is that night a full moon?"

Lily stared at James oddly. "No, the full moon is not until the 27th," she stated, gesturing at her day planner. "Although, I'm not sure what the phases of the moon have to do with the date of a head meeting."

James avoided eye contact with Lily, instead busying himself by pulling out his own day planner. "Thursday the 13th is fine."

Lily nodded, jotted down the meeting, and then replaced her day planner in her satchel. She stood up, stretching her legs and arms. James stood up, as well.

"May I escort you back to the Gryffindor dormitories," he asked suavely, offering Lily his arm.

Lily shook her head. "I'm off to the library to meet Alice. We have homework to finish."

James sighed and shook his head. "G'night, then, Evans. Enjoy the library!"


"You're brilliant, Remus!" James whispered, seating himself with his three best friends in the Gryffindor common room. "Evans wouldn't admit it, but she was impressed that I knew a prefect had been skiving off patrols!"

Remus smiled. "Who would have thought we'd ever put that map to good use?"

Sirius snorted. "We always put it to good use, Lupin."

Peter looked up from a deck of cards that he had been shuffling intently. "What are you three talking about?"

"Oh, Wormtail, you missed this discussion. You slept through breakfast last Tuesday, you lazy rat. Anyways, to fill you in—Evans had been complaining that James doesn't dock points from students. You know how uptight she can be, taking five points off from anyone who uses magic in the hallway—"

"As she should, Sirius!" Remus interrupted. "That is her job as Head Girl!"

"But who has time to just camp out in the hallway and scout out improper use of magic?" Sirius countered. "James is far too busy for that. Last Thursday, though, when Remus and I were planning to head down to the kitchens, we checked the Marauder's Map. We noticed someone was already down there... a prefect that should have been upstairs patrolling some corridors."

Peter smiled, as he began to cotton on. "So James snitched?"

James nodded.

"Oh, she must have been baffled. You caught some misbehavior that she somehow overlooked!" Peter replied.

"She was a little puzzled," James agreed, "but what's more important is that she now thinks that I am taking my position seriously. I need her to respect me..."

"I am sure she respects you, Prongs," Remus said.

"But you want more than respect, don't you, boy?" Sirius quipped.

James grinned at Sirius, giving him a knowing look.

"Now, James-y, seeing as Remus and I just helped you out, I'm hoping you can return the favor."

"What kind of favor do you need?" James asked.

"Well, to be quite blunt, I need a private room to take Hestia." Sirius admitted.

"So do you want all of us to stay down here while you use the dormitory?" Peter asked.

"No, no, I need something more private than that," Sirius clarified.

"Like what, the Room of Requirement?" James suggested. "I don't see how you need a favor from me to get in there."

"No, I'm thinking of an even better room. Seeing as your meeting is over, Prongs, I'd like to take Hestia to the Head common room for a nice snog."

James paused. "Sirius, it's a meeting room. It's just a big table with two chairs in there."

"Prongs, I've already snogged Hestia in the captain's office in the Quidditch locker room, in the Room of Requirement, and in all of the secret passageways that haven't gone moldy. I've set a standard, now I need to deliver! I need access to this new secretive snogging location," Sirius begged. "Besides, are you even going to be using it anymore tonight? It's just going to lie vacant!"

James slowly inclined his head, taking in Sirius' points. "Alright, then," he conceded. "The password is 'durante munere.'"

Sirius jumped up quickly. "Cheers!" he called, before walking across the common room toward Hestia.


Lily overturned his satchel, allowing all of her belongings to cascade onto the library table. She pushed aside her day planner, three quills, a bottle of ink, and some notes she had taken during that day's Arithmancy class.

"It's not here," she whimpered to Alice. "I was working on it just earlier! I cannot believe that I lost it!"

"Shh," Alice soothed. "Think. Where were you working on it last? I'm sure you've just misplaced it."

Lily racked her mind. She had started working on her essay during dinner in the Great Hall, and had continued to work on it while waiting for Potter in the Head common room.

"I left it in the Head common room!" she realized. "I placed it on the floor when Potter came in."

Lily stood up swiftly. "Wait her just for a mo'," she told Alice. "I'll just dart up and fetch it."

Lily scurried out of the library, heading to the fourth floor.

"Durante munere!" She gasped at the tapestry, out of breath from racing up four flights of stairs.

The tapestry swung open, revealing two figures intertwined atop the head table.

"Ohh, Sirius," a voice moaned as the two figures shared a heated kiss.

"Dear Merlin!" Lily shrieked, staring wild-eyed at the scene in front of her. Her bottle-green eyes were as wide as orbs.

"Oi, Evans! Care to join us?" Sirius called unabashedly, still lying on the tabletop. He waved her over.

Lily shook her head, unable to formulate a response.

"My... my essay," she finally uttered, pointing underneath the table.

"Oh, these yours?" Sirius asked. He stood up, gathered the essay and books, and handed them to Lily.

She nodded, forcing herself to swallow the lump in her throat.

"You're welcome," Sirius said over his shoulder, returning to Hestia.

Lily backed out of the room quickly. Once outside of the tapestry, she endeavored to regain her composure. She leaned against the wall and pushed her red locks off of her forehead. The feeling of embarrassment began to ebb out of her body, quickly replaced with an overwhelming sense of anger.

"Potter..." Lily hissed.


Loud, stomping footsteps approached James as he sat in the Gryffindor common room, playing Exploding Snap with Peter and Remus. Seconds later, a stack of Potions books dropped onto the table top, scattering stacks of cards.

James gazed up at the owner of these books bemusedly.

"What's wrong, m'dear?" He asked Lily lightly. "Did you change your mind about the Harvest menu?"

"No, I have not changed my bloody mind about the Harvest menu!" she responded in an icy tone.

"Oh good, because I really am looking forward to treacle toffee," James remarked.

"I just went to retrieve my books from the Head common room," Lily began, "and I would love if you could enlighten me as to why Sirius Black and some girl are in there."

James' jaw sank open, and he quickly exchanged frightened looks with Remus and Peter.

"How dare you!" Lily exploded, shooting daggers out of her eyes at James.

Remus and Peter quickly stood up, offered hurried excuses, and headed up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

"Please Evans, not here," James pleaded, looking around at all of the other students in the common room. Many of them, attracted by Lily's sudden outburst, were watching Lily and James with interest.

"Oh, of course, Potter," Lily said sarcastically. "Let's just take this conversation to the Head common room. Oh wait—it's occupied!"

James sank lower in his seat and stared at his hands for a few seconds.

"Lily, I'm sorry..." he muttered.

"The Head common room is for meetings, Potter," Lily lectured ferociously. "We are to use that room for planning, you arse! I would not be angry if you used that room to host Quidditch team meetings or to study, but to send your friend in there for a shag is unacceptable!"

"Sirius and Hestia are shagging?" James inquired, eyes brightening.

"Oh, please! Stay on topic!" Lily demanded. "I am tired of you not taking your responsibilities seriously! I have half a mind to report you to McGonagall!"

"No, Lily, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you." James urged.

"How do you intend to go about doing that?" she questioned, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'll... I'll plan the Halloween Feast myself," James offered. "I will take all of that work off of your hands. I promise, I'll plan the after-dinner entertainment, set up the Great Hall on the day of the feast, and take care of any other matters. Please, just let me slide this one time."

Lily stared directly into James' eyes. His pleading look caused her to soften slightly.

"Alright, Potter," she acquiesced. "But please, this feast needs to be good. Take it seriously?"

"Oh, I'm ready, Evans. I am ready to take my job very seriously," he assured her, echoing her own words from a month earlier.

Lily hid the smile that was itching to appear on her face.


Lily sat beside the lake, enjoying the colors of the fall foliage reflected in the water. Gorgeous shades of red, orange, and gold sparkled as the lake rippled in a light breeze. She stretched her legs out in front of her and inhaled deeply, as if she could smell autumn. Lily loved spending afternoons out beside the lake, and was pleased that the weather had cooperated throughout October. She had been bringing her reading out onto the Hogwarts grounds regularly.

"Oh, we knew we would find you out here!" Emmeline called, as she and Dorcas approached Lily.

"Although why you would chose to sit out here instead of eat dinner in the Great Hall is beyond me..." Dorcas teased. She tossed an apple into the air and caught it easily.

"Well, it is only five-thirty, Dorcas," Emmeline countered. "Not everyone eats dinner this early!"

"Not everyone has Potter scheduling Quidditch practice at 6 PM!" Dorcas grumbled.

"You look like Potter right now," Lily commented, watching Dorcas pitch the apple into the air. She was reminded of James' common practice of testing his reflexes with a snitch.

"Sorry, Lil," Dorcas said, grinning. "Here, take it, you've got to eat something."

"Yes, you really should. If we head to the library now, you'll probably miss dinner tonight," Emmeline chided.

"Thanks," Lily said, grabbing the apple. She gathered up her book and stood up.

The three girls gamboled away from the water's edge, down a path that would lead them first past the Quidditch pitch and then to the castle.

"So what's the plan for the Halloween Feast?" Emmeline asked. "I'm looking forward to it! I think Gideon may ask me to go with him." She smiled toothily.

"Honestly, I don't know what the plan is," Lily admitted.

"What do you mean? It's in a week and a half," Dorcas reminded her.

"James offered to plan it," Lily explained.

"You made the Head Boy plan the party? No offense, Lil, but blokes usually are not excellent party planners," Dorcas said with a touch of sarcasm.

"I did not make him plan it," Lily countered. "And besides, it's a Halloween party. The theme is not altogether difficult. I'm sure it'll just be a costume party."

"A costume party?" Emmeline repeated.

"Well, yeah, everyone wears costumes on Halloween," Lily looked at Emmeline curiously.

"What do you mean?" Dorcas inquired further.

"Halloween guising?" Lily offered, watching Dorcas' confused expression. "You don't know? On Halloween, children dress up in costumes and go door-to-door collecting candy."

Dorcas frowned. "That must be some sort of Muggle thing."

Lily glanced at Emmeline, who appeared equally perturbed.

"I guess it must be..." Lily conceded.

"Well then, Potter won't have the slightest clue about it," Dorcas predicted, as she neared the pitch.

"Have the slightest clue about what?" James asked, falling into stride alongside Dorcas.

"Oh hullo, James," Dorcas greeted her Quidditch teammate.

"Have a clue about what?" James pressed.

"Oh, I don't know—guising?" Dorcas said, as if trying out the word for the first time.

James looked at her oddly. "Guising?"

Dorcas smirked. "Told you so, Lily."


"Remus, what's 'guising'?" James asked later that evening, while sitting with the Marauders in the Gryffindor common room.

"Guising? It's a Halloween tradition. You've never heard of it?" Remus asked.

James shook his head. "Have you, mate?" he asked Sirius.

Sirius shrugged.

"Oh, well, it's a Scottish and an Irish practice, although British families do it, also," Remus described. "On Halloween, Muggle children dress up in costumes and then travel from house to house. At each house, the residents hand out candy to the children."

Sirius' ears perked up. "You mean people just give out free candy?"

"To children, Sirius," Remus clarified.

"I could pass for twelve or thirteen, no?" Sirius asked Peter.

"Oh, nevermind that!" James interrupted. "We're not going guising!"

"Then why ask about it?" Peter questioned.

"Because Lily mentioned guising when she talked about the Halloween Feast," James told his friends.

"So Lily wants to go guising? What do you expect she'll dress as—an old hag? Or, no, no! You'll prefer this one, Prongs: a pixie!" Sirius jested.

"No, I don't think anyone is going guising..." Remus mused.

"Well, why are we going on about this, then?" Sirius questioned.

"I think," Remus ventured, "that Lily expects the Halloween Feast to be a costume party or a masquerade."

A dawning look of comprehension crossed James' face.

"Blimey, you're probably right," he agreed.

"We should still work free candy in there somehow, though," Sirius asserted. "Cauldron Cakes, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs..." His eyes lit up at the thought.

"Well, looks like we've got a lot of work to do," James said, thinking nervously about the approaching event.


On October 29th, Lily, Emmeline, and Dorcas readied themselves for the Halloween Feast in their dormitory. Dorcas donned a pair of dark green Quidditch robes, looking—Lily realized—much like she always did.

"Are you just going as yourself?" Lily inquired uncertainly.

Dorcas sighed exasperatedly. "Lily, the Gryffindor Quidditch team wears scarlet. These robes are green!"

Lily's blank stare remained. "So you're going as a Slytherin Quidditch player?"

"I'm going as Glynnis Griffiths, the seeker for the Holyhead Harpies," Dorcas explained.

Lily's expression remained unchanged.

"She's a professional Quidditch player," Dorcas further explained, with her eyebrows rising.

"Oh, I see!" Lily responded.

"Why, what are you?" Dorcas asked, taking in Lily's silvery dress robes and tiara.

"I'm Rowena Ravenclaw!" Lily said indignantly, adjusting her tiara.

"And she was a princess?" Dorcas guessed.

"No, she created a diadem that enhances wisdom!" Lily said. "It's all in Hogwarts: A History."

"You better go sit with the Ravenclaws tonight," Dorcas joked.

Meanwhile, Emmeline stepped out of the changing room, appearing rather self-conscious.

"Lily, does this look passable?" she asked, studying her blue jeans, blouse, and trainers in the mirror.

"You make a perfect Muggle!" Lily cried, smiling at Emmeline's attire.

"Oh, good," Emmeline breathed. "I think I'm all ready, then."

With one last look in the mirror, Emmeline joined her two friends. Together, they joined the droves of students walking toward the Great Hall.


The treacle toffee was flying off the dishes, much to Lily's surprise.

"I guess it's not just James' favorite," she thought, as she helped herself to a slice of pumpkin pie. "Although, it seems James has planned the whole menu rather well..."

As she aimed a spoonful of pumpkin pie into her moth, Lily gazed around the Great Hall, pleased to see so many students eating heartily. She had been hesitant to allow James to plan the event, especially since both the Head Boy and the Head Girl were responsible for the success of the feast. However, the students seemed to be enjoying themselves, Lily realized with relief.

Moments later, just as Lily finished her pumpkin pie, Professor Dumbledore stood up. He tapped his fork against his water glass, thereby gaining the attention of the students.

"Happy Halloween!" Dumbledore greeted them. "I am pleased to see such wonderful costumes on so many of you! I am eager to begin the next phase of this feast. If you would all be so kind as to exit out the doors into the Entrance Hall momentarily, the staff shall prepare the room for you."

"Oooh! What's next, Lily? What's next?" Emmeline asked excitedly, as the girls made their way out of the Great Hall.

"I don't know," Lily replied honestly. "You'll have to wait and see."

"Or ask Potter!" Dorcas suggested, spotting the Head Boy standing with his three friends.

James was dressed in a dark gray Muggle suit. Remus wore a similar suit in black, while Sirius sported a flamboyant white suit, complete with patent leather shoes. Peter was dressed head-to-toe in denim.

"Oh, are they Muggles also?" Emmeline asked.

"Yeah, what is with those jackets they are wearing?" Dorcas said, wrinkling her nose.

"They're... they're dressed as the Beatles," Lily realized, looking more closely at the four boys.

"Oh! That Muggle band out of London!" Dorcas cried.

"Their music is quite good!" Emmeline agreed, looking over at the boys with newfound appreciation.

Dorcas strode over, intent on asking James what the rest of the evening entailed. However, before she reached James' side, the doors to the Great Hall sprang open and exuberant music spilled out into the Entrance Hall.

Emmeline grabbed Lily by the arm and tugged her inside. Lily gasped with surprise; the room had been completely transformed in just those few short minutes.

The long House tables had been replaced with smaller round tables, each seating approximately 10-12 people. Deep bowls in the center of each table overflowed with wizarding candy. Numerous students had already selected seats, and were sampling the wide spread of sweets available.

In the very back of the room, space had been allocated for a dance floor and band, the source of the fast-paced music audible from the Entrance Hall. Emmeline positively grinned at the sight of the dance floor; "I'm going to ask Gideon to dance," she announced, heading off to find him.

Additionally, the professors had set up small tables along the sides of the room. Each table displayed some sort of magical exhibit. Lily, overwhelmed with curiosity, headed over to the tables. Professor Slughorn was doling out small shot glass-sized doses of Felix Felicis to an eager crowd. Professor McGonagall was transfiguring clothespins into Halloween masks for students requiring last-minute costumes. Professor Kettleburn stood alongside a costumed ghoul, who was posing for photographs with students.

"This is brilliant!" Dorcas called, rushing over to join the queue of people at Slughorn's station.

Pleased that her two friends were enjoying the event, Lily watched contentedly as Professor McGonagall began meeting students' requests for Halloween masks. She giggled as McGonagall fashioned a clothespin into a mask that served as an exact replica of Professor Binns' face.

"Alright there, Evans?" a voice said from over her shoulder. Lily turned around to face James.

Lily smiled and nodded.

"What do you think?" he asked, stepping beside her.

"I would say... I would say I'm pretty impressed, Potter," Lily replied.

James beamed, his chest puffing up in pride. And Lily, finding the night's mood to be contagious, beamed as well.